Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.

Both Coppell and West Plano meet your needs and your budget. If you want a central location and stellar schools then there is no real need to rent and move twice.

I recommend Renner Middle School whole heartedly, Rice & Robbinson are more or less similar. Renner feeds to wealthier part of West Plano offering properties from $400k -8 million. I wouldn't trade it for any other area though same money can get me a newer and bigger house in almost every city with exclusion of Park Cities. There are some things that count but you can't count them. spending time with my family and children's schooling are among them. I can count sq feet, age of the house and number of extra rooms but that really doesn't count in my life.

I found that school in several listings feeding to W. Plano; one had Rice. Right now we're in a very diverse and large town as well. It seems that Plano has a better handle on it and a much better school system. Instead of keeping 9-12 together, they split it up. I actually like that idea. Not that a 9th grader can't be mentored by a 12th grader but I feel they are worlds apart in their maturity and focus. My kids are used to the - some have more than them and others have less than them - thinking. I tell them that all the time. We have some kids qualifying for a free lunch and we also live in an area where others get a Mercedes for their first car. The wealthier side of it is not as prevalent though and I don't know if trying to keep up with their friends who might live in an $8 mil house would be beneficial to them. I just don't want to sacrifice a good education and want to give them every opportunity possible.

Have you considered Plano Senior High? It will have slightly lower test scores than Plano West, but will have similar teachers and the same program - just a less competitive student body. Going forward, Plano West will be tiger mom central, due to a recent change in the district's feeder patterns, and I think you mentioned that you might want to avoid this. You would also not have to worry about the "Keeping up with the Joneses" complex as much there.

If you decide to give it a look, areas feeding to Schimelpfenig, Hendrick, and Haggard Middle Schools would be good areas to look in, and should be in (or below) your price range.

Plano West will be tiger mom central, due to a recent change in the district's feeder patterns, and I think you mentioned that you might want to avoid this.

I guess the Coopercenter (or somebody) did a demographics map of the US based on the 2010 census - you can see Plano's 'tiger' spread in dot form. It also shows why people have such low opinions of east Plano.

I guess if you want quality education, positive peer pressure and diverse enviornment for your children then you better find a district with a healthy percentage of tiger moms. It is an advantage for my children, finding quality study groups, debate teams, science fair project groups, volunteer oppurtunities, math competitions, spelling bees, geography bees, summer camp buddies etc is very easy. I never had this advantage, hardly few people were interested in these activities.

However, it is not everyone's cup of tea. I know people who don't want to send their children to Ivy schools as they prefer to avoid competition and have a laid back style.

We're taking our first trip to Dallas next month and would (someday...in the near future) like to relocate from NJ. We have relatives in Frisco and, the older we get, the more we get tired of the cost of living near NYC and the sometimes harsh winters. A realtor just started sending me some listings based upon certain criteria but I want to have a better idea of school systems (our primary concern) so that when we spend a few hours looking at some real estate during our trip, we target the right areas.

Budget - 300-$400k - or maybe a little higher, depending upon how closely it comes to what we want
Looking for 4br, 3ba ~3000-4000sf with 3 car garage, quiet street

Our kids are going into 4th and 5th grade so I'm really concentrating on middle/high school rather than elem. since we're starting the job search recently and would probably not be moving for at least another year. Both kids are decent students but not overachieving, however, I have 2 grad degrees and my husband is college educated so school is something that is very valued in our home and the kids know that. My son has dreams of being a Dr. and I want to give him the opportunity of a good education if he wants to work hard for it. We want them to fit in (my husband and I are professionals but certainly not wealthy) but be inspired and challenged in their schools. I'm a big believer that a school climate can certainly bring out the best in a student). Even though we live on the East Coast, our schools have not been performing well for several years, which is very disappointing. I have been focusing on Plano West and Coppell ISDs (learning a lot on these boards...thank you) but there are so many schools in these districts and I wanted to get everyone's input on areas to target - i.e. some people like Rice, dislike Shepton, etc. Like I said, no jobs yet but after my husband dealing with a 1.5/2 hour mass transit commute to NYC (each way) - anything under 45 minutes would be a dream .

TIA!

We just made the same move. Feel free to pm for details...

Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.